Facebook could add 1,000 jobs in Dublin in hunt for new HQ (updated)

Facebook is once again on the lookout for a new headquarters in Dublin, and if it finds the ideal location, it could create as many as 1,000 new jobs.

Two years ago, Facebook announced its new international headquarters right in the heart of Silicon Docks, where it remains one of the areas largest tech employers. Now it is looking to move once again.

According to the The Business Post, Facebook has been working with the real estate agent DTZ to help it find a new home in Dublin that can meet its needs to expand.

One such requirement is a space of 110,000 sq ft, despite its current Dublin footprint already equating to 250,000 sq ft.

However, a Facebook spokesperson confirmed that if such a building is located within the city, the company would be expecting to hire an extra 1,000 staff over the course of the next two years.

“As Facebook grows in Ireland, we may look to grow our building footprint but we are not committed to a location,” the spokesperson said.

Construction ongoing at Clonee

Going by Facebook’s current staff numbers, their existing site is capable of holding an additional 400 staff, but its plans over the course of the next few years will need to facilitate more to meet its demand.

The last time Facebook issued a major jobs announcement in Dublin was back in March of this year, when it revealed it was looking for 200 jobs to fill its new R&D and business innovation centres.

This resulted in Facebook’s staff numbers in Ireland amounting to almost 1,500 people, but this could almost double if a suitable location is found.

Outside of the capital, construction of Facebook’s €200m data centre in Clonee, Co Meath is ongoing, having broken ground last April.

With 600 construction jobs created to build the site, a video shot by a drone last October showed the scale of progress on the site.

Updated, 11.09am, 12 December 2016:A Facebook spokesperson has since issued a statement saying: “Earlier this year, we announced that we would create 200 jobs in 2016 to add to the 1,300 we currently have. We now stand at just over 1,500 people in the international headquarters in Dublin and we have no further updates at this time.”